Olynyk, who announced Friday he would enter the 2013 NBA draft, helped the modest Spokane, Wash., team capture the West Coast Conference (WCC) championship and earn its first No. 1 national ranking while totalling its most wins in a single season. He was named WCC player of the year, led the Bulldogs in scoring, and ranked fifth in the entire NCAA in field goal percentage.

As Director of Basketball Operations for the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, Krause is one of the masterminds behind Olynyk’s meteoric 2012-13, in which the seven-foot-junior ended the season receiving All-American honours from several groups, including the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Associated Press, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Sporting News.

Krause has mentored several future-NBA players at Gonzaga, including current Memphis Grizzlies forward Austin Daye, Los Angeles Clippers centre Ronny Turiaf and Vancouver’s Robert Sacre, a center with the Los Angeles Lakers. Speaking before Olynyk's announcement, Krause said he'd like to see the NCAA star stay in college.

“I think he’s still got a lot of learning to do,” Krause says. “Even though he’s a first-team All-American, his fundamentals are still developing. His foundation for inside and outside play will leave him in good stead no matter when he goes into professional ranks. (He) needs continued development and I would like to see him finish his master’s degree before he goes on to the professional thing.”

Krause just might share one or two of the secrets to Olynyk’s success on April 27 and 28, during a coaching clinic and players’ camp at Archbishop O’Leary school.

“I think he’s a natural leader,” says Krause, who has spent nearly five decades coaching college basketball and has published 27 books and 30 instructional videos. “He’s a bright young man and he has all the traits you would like to see in a person that’s growing and developing.”

After averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game over his first two seasons with the Bulldogs, Olynyk posted averages of 17.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 2012-13 as he took full advantage of his seven-foot frame to become a dominant force inside.

Olynyk is a foot taller than when he started high school, but while his body morphed from that of a point-guard to that of a post-player, his mentality remained that of the former.

Having watched Olynyk struggle through his freshman and sophomore years, the Bulldogs staff convinced the Canadian giant to take the 2011-12 season off for what Krause calls “a learning year.” Olynyk was listed as a redshirt, meaning that while he couldn’t suit up for an actual game, there was no limit to what he could do once the TV cameras were turned off.

“He was playing in practice all the time, and practising his skills and working on his strength and fundamentals,” says Krause, who serves as research chair of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. “You could see him start to blossom and develop and I think he grew from an emotional maturity standpoint. He just focused completely on the team and was the biggest team (-oriented) person we had a year ago.

“He started getting better at rebounding, he started developing an inside game as well as an outside game and you could see the joy of learning taking place and the improvement that came from that,” continues Krause, who wasn’t surprised by the Canadian’s remarkable progress.

“Obviously you couldn’t predict that he would take that to such a high level but you could see he was going to have a lot of success because he focused on putting the team first, the physical development and the fundamental skill development. You could see him blossom just like a flower coming out in bloom in spring.”

Olynyk led Gonzaga in points, blocks, and field-goal percentage as the Bulldogs went 32-3 and earned a No. 1 seed for March Madness, though they were ultimately upset by Wichita State in the tournament’s third round.

After graduating in December with a 3.53 GPA in accounting, Olynyk was named the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball. Olynyk is now studying for his MBA and has declared for the 2013 NBA draft.

brian.swane@sunmedia.ca

NCAA Gonzaga University Basketball Clinic

Archbishop O’Leary High School,

8760 132nd Avenue

COACHES CLINIC – Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. – noon

PLAYERS CAMP – Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. for boys and girls ages 9-16 (will be split into separate camps by age and skill level)

For more information or to register contact David Munro, 604-527-5041 or munrod@douglascollege.ca

Olynyk, who announced Friday he would enter the 2013 NBA draft, helped the modest Spokane, Wash., team capture the West Coast Conference (WCC) championship and earn its first No. 1 national ranking while totalling its most wins in a single season. He was named WCC player of the year, led the Bulldogs in scoring, and ranked fifth in the entire NCAA in field goal percentage.

As Director of Basketball Operations for the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, Krause is one of the masterminds behind Olynyk’s meteoric 2012-13, in which the seven-foot-junior ended the season receiving All-American honours from several groups, including the Nation